Cushion construction



March 1967 M. 1.. CACIOPPO CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 8, 1965 INVENTOR Marie L. Cacioppo 3,308,490 Patented Mar. 14, 1967 3,308,490 CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Marie L. Cacioppo, Kansas City, Mo., assignor to Louis Marino, Kansas City, Mo. Filed Sept. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 485,898 1 Claim. (Cl. 5345) This invention relates to cushion construction and, more particularly, to a cushion having improved means for securing the cover section to the body section.

One of the chief disadvantages heretofore encountered with cushions of conventional construction has been the inability to secure the cover to the yieldable body of a cushion in a manner to prevent relative displacement of the cover with respect to the cushion when the cushion is utilized. Thus, after a person sits on cushions of conventional construction, the cover has a tendency to be shifted or to slip with respect to the body of the cushion. This tendency results from movements of the body of the person utilizing the cushion and also, from the movements attendant upon the application of the weight of the person to the cushion and the removal therefrom when rising from the cushion.

It has been common practice in the past to attempt to avoid the shifting of the cover from the body of the cushion by utilizing transversely extending fasteners which may be secured to the cover by means of buttons or the like. These buttons are disposed on the outer surface of the cushion where they are subject to becoming broken or disengaged from the cushion, as well as to contributing to the discomfort of the user. Furthermore, these buttons may not necessarily fit into the decor of the surrounding furnishings and are, therefore, unsightly.

One further disadvantage attendant upon the use of conventional means for securing the cover to a cushion is the fact that no suitable means has been found to secure a slip cover which must be removed periodically.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide readily releasable means for securing a cover section to the body section of a cushion.

A further important object of the invention is to provide such readily releasable means that is not visible externally of the cushion.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a releasable attachment between the cover and body sections of the cushion, which attachment will not permit relative displacement between the sections, yet which attachment does not contribute to discomfort of the user of the cushion.

These and other important objects of the invention will be further explained or will become apparent from the following specification and appended claim.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cushion shown partially in section to reveal details of construction, one corner of the cover section being folded back for clarity; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view through the cushion illustrating the interengagement of the hook pile threads and the loop pile threads pursuant to the principles of this invention.

A cushion, broadly denoted by the numeral 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 and includes a body section 12 comprised of yieldable, readily deformable material such as sponge rubber or the like. Section 12 has an upper surface 14 disposed in facing relationship with the bottom surface 16 of the uppermost panel 18 of a cover 20 for cushion 10. It will be noted that cover 20 is of conventional construction and includes panels 22 and 24 integrally attached to top panel 18 at the edges of the latter. A piping 26 extends peripherally around cushion 10 at the uppermost edge thereof, and a similar piping 28 extends around the lowermost edge of cushion 10.

In order to avoid the shifting of cover 20 with respect to the yieldable body 12, the surface 16 of panel 18 is provided with hook members 30. Members 30 are disposed in opposed facing relationship with loop members 32 secured to the upper surface 14 of body 12. As shown best in FIG. 2, hook members 30 include elongated, generally planar strips of textile material 34. The material 34 is provided with a plurality of pile threads 36 extending outwardly from the plane of material 34 and in a direction away from panel 18. The threads 36 are formed with openings 38 in an otherwise closed loop to present hooks as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Material 34 may be formed pursuant to the principles disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,717,437, issued to G. Demestral, on September 13, 1955. The disclosures in this patent are incorporated herein by reference and, therefore, it is not necessary to describe the material 32 in detail. It suffices to say that threads 36 may be formed from a synthetic resin material which is relatively stiff, yet yieldable to permit the threads 36 to straighten when sufficient force is applied. Normally, however, threads 36 retain the general configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 for a purpose to be described.

The loop members 32 include a generally planar strip of material 40 having loop pile threads 42 extending outwardly from the plane of material 40 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The loop pile threads 42 are closed to provide loops projecting from the surface of material 40.

Member 32 is secured to body 12 as by stitching or the like and is disposed on surface 14 in position to be complementally engaged by the corresponding strips of book members 30, as illustrated in FIG. 1. When members 30 are pressed against members 32 the hooks of threads 36 interengage with the loops of members 32 as shown in FIG. 2. This latches cover section 20 to body section 12 and prevents the shifting of section 20 during normal usage of cushion 10. When it is desired to remove cover section 20 from the body section 12, an upwardly exerted force tends to straighten the resilient threads 36, causing them to disengage from the corresponding loops 42 and permitting the cover section 20 to be removed from the cushion. When it is desired to re-install the cover section 20 on the cushion, it is but necessary to press the members 30 into engagement with members 32 and the hooks re-engage with a portion of the loops of members 32 to again secure the cover to the body of the cushion.

It has been found that one suitable means of attaching the hook members 30 to the cover section 20 is by stitching. However, any suitable means, such as by adhesive or the like, may be employed for this purpose. Similarly, the loop members 32 may be stitched, glued, or otherwise secured in any suitable manner to the upper surface of body 12.

Manifestly, the loop member 32 might be secured to the cover section 20 and hook member 32 would then be secured to the body section 12. However, in order to avoid the possibility of any relatively sharp ends of the hook threads 36 from projecting through the material of the cover, it has been found desirable that the books he directed away from the material of the cover. Thus, as weight is applied to the cover, the hooks have a tendency to be embedded in the pile projecting upwardly from the loop member and there is no tendency for the relatively sharp hooks to become disengaged from the loops or to project through the cover.

Obviously, the hook members and the loop members could take any desirable shape. However, satisfactory results have been obtained in avoiding any displacement of the cover with respect to the body if a peripherally extending strip of material is provided to extend completely around the upper panel of the cover and the upper surface of the cushion.

3 4 Although the hook pile threads and loop pile threads means attaching said second strip to said cone. may he formed of a synthetic resin material, it is consponding surface, templated that the advantages Of this invention could be one of said strips having a plurality of raised pile achieved if the threads were formed from other materials threads provided with a multitude of closed loops such as small wires or the like. 5 extending outwardly toward the other of said Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as strips, new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: said other strip having a plurality of raised pile In combination with a cushion having: threads of relatively stiff, yieldable material exa body of resilient material having an upper surface, a tending outwardly toward said one strip,

lower surface and a sidewall; and said threads of the second strip having free ends, a flexible cover completely enclosing the body and propresenting a multitude of hooks,

vided with a pair of sections complementally engagsaid hooks being releasably interlocked with said ing proximal surfaces, together with a continuous loops, panel complementally engaging said sidewall, each whereby said beads are maintained by said strucsection having a continuous peripheral bead joining ture in positions contiguous with corresponding the same with said panel, peripheral edges of the sections and the cover structure interposed between one of said sections and thereby held against its tendency to become disits corresponding surface adjacent and spaced inplaced relative to the body during use of the wardly from the proximal bead for holding said seccushion. tions against shifting out of alignment with cone sponding surfaces and holding said panel against References fitted y the EXfimiIlel shifting out of alignment with said sidewall com- UNITED STATES PATENTS rising: p a first continuous strip engaging said one section 2870824 1/1959 Barre 5 345 X adjacent the peripheral margin of the latter; 3966321 12/1962 Kmtner 5 334 X 3/1966 Fultz et al 5348 means attaching said strip to send one sectlon; 11

a second continuous strip engaging said correresponding surface adjacent the peripheral mar- FRANK SHERRY Examme" gin of the latter in alignment throughout with CALVERT, Assistant Examinersaid first strip; and 

